Happy July 4th (a day late)!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and got to celebrate with people you love, or at least like a lot!

One thing that's difficult about any holiday is the delicious food that comes with it. For the most part, I allow myself small indulgences because otherwise I'd overeat, and that doesn't do me any good. I am a firm believer in just having that one brownie (or at least half of it) to satisfy the desire for it, instead of resisting and then having 2 or 3 in secret because you waited so long to eat it. I also think that taking a small handful of Doritos is completely ok, as long as I have a larger handful of fruit on the same plate.

Friday was a little bit more difficult as far as eating healthy goes. We picked up Little Ceasar's for dinner, but we definitely had leftovers.

Saturday was alright, I did pretty good during the day on my own, then we picked up Chipotle for dinner. I opted for the chicken burrito bowl instead of the burrito because it cuts out about 200 calories just by eliminating the tortilla. It's about 650-700 calories for the bowl depending on what you put in it. Yes, that's a lot for one meal, but if I know I'm having it, I cut back a little during the rest of the day.

Sunday we went to Stella's Fish Cafe for lunch with my in-laws. I had fish, of course, and it was yummy! For dinner, my mom and I had a BBQ with a family friend of ours. This meal proved to me that you can BBQ and still be healthy. I made a Crostini Spread from the Kraft Food & Family magazine. I used low fat cream cheese and light sour cream and it still tasted delicious. The moms ate almost the whole thing! Then we had turkey burgers with feta cheese, an orzo salad and a pea cream salad thing (not sure of the exact name). Then for dessert we had strawberry shortcakes with just the berries, no extra sauce. Yes, we used whipped cream, but it's kind of hard not to!

For the 4th, we had a BBQ with some of our close friends. We made Juicy Lucy's (or tried to), guacamole, cowboy salsa, potato salad, hummus and pita chips, and a variety of chips, dips and fruit. Oh, and don't forget the previously mentioned brownies :) I managed to eat to the point of satisfaction, not to the point of feeling like I'm going to explode.

I love holidays as much as the next person, and I especially love a good BBQ. However, the amazing food that comes from these events is very tough for a person like me, on the road to losing weight and having a healthy lifestyle. I have found a good balance that works for me and still allows me to enjoy every minute of fun!

Happy summer and happy BBQ-ing!

Hidden Gem

A couple of years ago I bought 2 dining deals and gave them to my mom for Christmas. One was for Spill the Wine (which we weren't very impressed with) and the other was for Grecco's on the St. Croix. Grecco's is not in any way close by, so we've been putting off going there for 2 years! Recently, I bought another daily deal thing for Grecco's and we decided it was just time to go, so tonight, we went.

O. M. G. I was completely blown away! First of all, it was kind of hard to find because it's just on a main drag in Saint Croix Falls, WI and it doesn't really stand out. When you go inside, you come to a very large bar area with a few tables. Keep going, and you see 2 different, tucked away dining rooms with tables. Then you get to the kitchen, which is where we sat. There were about 6 tables for 2-4 people right next to the kitchen, which was teeny tiny! I didn't really know what to think because the decor didn't match the table setting at all (which was very formal). We're the first diners of the evening, so we got pretty quick service.

We each got a glass of wine and decided to start with the Pot Stickers. WOW! They didn't look like your usual pot stickers, but they were just as good. Covered in a peanut sauce and almonds, YUM! The waitress recommended the fish and said the cook had an amazing walleye. My mom got the herb crusted walleye with a potato puree, seasonal vegetables and a brown butter sauce. I ordered the coconut crusted Tilapia with cilantro lime rice, seasonal vegetables and a coconut sauce. I seriously thought I was in heaven! Probably in my top 3 fish dishes that I've had in a restaurant. I'm not a coconut fan, but the combo of the sweet with the cilantro lime rice was fantastic! My mom's dish was amazing too! It just all went together SO well!!

It's a little spendy, and we got lucky because they usually don't let people use 2 dining deals but they let us, so we saved a TON of money. However, if you're looking for a nice dinner out of the cities, I would highly recommend this place! I was beyond pleasantly surprised! I seriously cannot stop thinking about how wonderful it was! Take the trip and check it out!

http://www.greccos.com/

Please note that the website does not have the most updated menu, but I would obviously recommend the fish if you like fish. Otherwise, I really don't think you could go wrong with anything you order.

A Salad I Can Love

I get bored, fast, with food. For a while I was stir-frying vegetables for dinner, then I got bored. I was making salads, then I got bored.

I made a salad last night with homemade dressing and it was DELISH!

1 cup spring mix lettuce

1 cup butter lettuce

1 chicken breast cooked on the stove top with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt (use 1/2 for salad, save the other half for another day) or your choice of protein

Handful of your preferred nut (sliced almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, etc)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

*Cook chicken/protein in a small skillet for about 8 minutes (I used Extra Tender, might take longer for a thicker chicken breast), or until there is no pink inside.

*Mix balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a small container and put in refrigerator for a few minutes (I prefer my dressing cold, if you don't, then no need to cool it)

*Use whatever lettuce you prefer, I just happen to like the mix of the two I listed above. I like to make things easy, so I just use bag lettuce because I don't feel wasteful. Put the lettuce in a bowl of your choice, add nuts.

*Cut chicken in half, set one half aside for another salad. Cut the half you're using into small pieces, however small or big you'd like, add to the salad.

*Pour dressing over the salad, toss, and enjoy!

This was perfect for me because I had one chicken breast in the freezer and I was able to use it for 2 meals. You can definitely make a larger amount of the dressing and set aside for regular use. I don't have a great container for it, so I just make it as I go. I've heard 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, but I found that resulted in a very thick, oily dressing, lol. So I used 1 part vinegar to 1 1/2 parts oil.

Free Zumba Classes in Shoreview!

Today marks the beginning of 2 weeks of free fitness classes at Shoreview Community Center! They do this in between their fitness sessions so you can check out the classes before you put money into it. These 2 weeks are especially important if you want to take Zumba. I've been posting on my Facebook about how my favorite instructor, Renee Miller, is leaving SCC to go on to Physical Therapy school in Duluth. During these 2 weeks, the new instructors will be leading the classes and you can try them out!

Here is a link to the class times:
http://www.shoreviewcommunitycenter.com/programs

Scroll to "Fitness" then click FREE! Fitness Classes.

I will be at most Zumba classes this week and maybe a few others next week once school's out for the summer!

Slow Weeks Happen

This week was weird. I was up at the cabin last weekend for Memorial Day. Monday I was off school so I made sure I got up and got to the gym since I didn't get much exercise in over the weekend.

Sadly, I had to interpret a visitation and funeral this week. A good friend of my brother's (mine too) dad passed away and of course I made myself available to interpret. I've known the family since Jeff and Jake were little, like 3 years old, but I never really knew the father. Just interpreting for something that emotional, though, seemed to take a toll on my body.

Tuesday was the visitation and a very long day so I knew I wouldn't get to the gym. Wednesday was the funeral and I just was not myself. However, I knew I couldn't slack on my workouts, so I took a nap and got to a Zumba class that night. Thursday was my regular Zumba day and I met my mom beforehand, as usual, and went on a long walk. I got to the gym yesterday and did my core, but I only got in my weights one day this week.

My point is, while I really needed to be sure and get in my cardio, I also had to remind myself that if I'm not feeling well and I'm run down, then I need to take a step back for a couple days. I've been feeling guilty all morning because I decided to sleep in and take it easy instead of going to the gym. However, I DID get in 4 cardio workouts (once with strength also) and this week starts free classes at SCC so I know I'll get in lots of great work outs.

This may have set me back in my weigh in, but I'm finally rid of the awful migraine I had last week and I'm ready to tackle the next week AND the last 7 days of work!

Have a great Sunday!

Small Victories

So I'm down 14 pounds and there are times when I'm disappointed that I can't see it more. Then, I had a few small victories over the weekend to show me that I AM making progress.

*My jeans that I bought a year ago that have gotten a little snug, buttoned with ease!

*I got on the treadmill this morning, and looked at myself in the mirror and thought "who is this person with the small thighs??" I can already see a difference in my thighs and bum.

*I do these things that my trainer calls "bird-dogs", I get on all fours, lift opposite leg/opposite arm then bring them in kind of like a crunch, plus it works my back. I went to do my left leg/right arm and my leg FLEW back behind me. It was so much lighter than it was a month ago!

I have a lot of things going on this week, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can still eat healthy and continue to have small (and big) victories!

3 more down, almost there!

Yep, I've lost 3 more pounds!

It's amazing to me how great I feel. I really should have done all of this a long time ago, but I don't think I was ready, financially or mentally. I also have a very concrete goal in my sights this time and I think it's just the push I needed to get going. I'm going to be completely honest and say that a big part of why I wasn't working out or eating right was because we were living paycheck to paycheck for a year. Before that, we never really got our finances stabilized in order to have that extra monthly payment of a gym membership. I think Bobby's new schedule really pushed me to do something because I have every evening to myself. I can go out and take classes, I can join a volleyball league for the summer (which I'm still shocked that I did), I can cook healthy meals for myself.

Have I slipped and had a bad day/meal here and there? Sure! I'm not proud of it, but it has happened and I think that's normal for anyone who goes through this.

I don't know if I'll reach my first short-term goal by the 31st, but I'm SO close. Just the fact that I'm only 5 pounds away from that goal instead of still having the whole 19 pounds left to lose, is amazing. I've come a long way in just 2 months and I'm so proud of myself :)